Taken Over:Story:Chapter1
Please read the preview before reading this, otherwise the story will not make sense. Find the preview here. The air about the castle's servants is much darker and more depressing than usual. The servants tread the worn stone floors with flippers barely lifting from the ground. Everyone's head is hung low in dread, for they know that, today, one of their own will be exiled, left on a distant island with no hope of return. A little girl, Arianna, with big, innocent eyes stares at her big sister, Annabelle, pitifully. The sorrow is practically pouring out of Annabelle's heart. Her eyes glisten with held back tears. Annabelle is only five years old, but she covered for her little sister's mistake. Now, she'll be left to starve to death on an abandoned island. '' ''"Annabelle- I'm so sorry!" Arianna shakes her head sympathetically, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I had no clue woo would get in twouble for when I pushed Sparrow!" "Shh! Keep woo voice down! Dey will hear dat woo did it!" Annabelle frowns. "Wista, I chose to cover for woo; woo didn't chose it for meh! I'm doing it because I wove woo! Woo live a good life for meh..." Annabelle rests her flippers on the bars of the jail cell. "Woo will be a better person. Woo need to stay." Arianna looks as though she might go and blurt to the closest guard that she did it. "But Annab-'' ''"Mo," Annabelle is stern. "Woo were always the better wista! Woo need to stay. Woo made one mistake, Arianna. One. Don't be so hard on yourself. I deserve dis for all da other tings I done dat the guards don't know about!" The "better twin" tilts her head and gives Annabelle a thankful look. She is too little to understand what a horrible thing she does by letting her twin save her. "Otay," she says, sadly. "Unless dere's a way to break woo out of dere!" Arianna's eyes light up when an idea pops into her head. "I'll ask Mike to welp woo escape, wista! I'll still never see woo again," she pauses, "but, at least, woo will be safe!" "Mo, Arianna. Mot in a million years! I don't want to be alive anymore; we have mothing, and I would still never see my fam fam again..." Annabelle says sorrowfully. "Besides, woo know that every pookie dat's gotten out of here has either starved or been caught!" Before Ari can say anything, Mike comes up behind her. "I'm really sorry, Annabelle; I've been asked to be your escort to the ship." Annabelle closes her eyes and shakes her head. "It fine, Mister Mike, I'd wather it be woo than some meanie guard!" Mike opens the cell and cuffs Annabelle. She walks along next to him. Ari wants to run and tear her sister away from Mike, but it's too late. '' ''The servants watch from the tallest part of the castle, forming a crowd of penguin shadows. Other penguins, the ones that live outside the castle, have made two rows, one on either side of Mike and Annabelle, and watch her as she makes her way to the ship. It is just seconds before the crowds block Arianna's sight. Lizzi, who Arianna has forgotten about, reaches down and picks up Ari's flipper. The little girl jumps in surprise. "We have to go back to work, sweetie..." Liz says, sadly, as she loved Annabelle as much as a sister. So, the four-year-old and her teenage mentor waddle back into the castle mournfully. ---- Lizzi shakes her head and leans against the cool kitchen counter. As she reads the scribe's notes from Annabelle's departure, she remembers that day, two years ago. And, yet, she wonders still if Annabelle could still be out there, on that island, alive. It seems quite likely to Lizzi, however unrealistic it may be. She was a fighter, young as she was, and she was the smartest pookie Lizzi had ever met. Lizzi jumps and yelps when she feels someone tap her on the shoulder. She jerks her head around, only to see now six-year-old Arianna standing next to her, clutching Annabelle's old, ugly teddy bear close to her heart and wearing a worn tee shirt that must have been her mother's. "Shush, Lizzi, it past lights out for meh! I don't want to be caught!" The teenager blushes, embarrassed that a little girl managed to scare her so badly. "Sorry!" she whispers. "What's wrong, dear?" "I heard from Mike when he came home tonight that my mummie is very sick! They say she's going to die!" Arianna looks terrified, but she isn't crying. The servants here have been pushed to their limits- they don't cry about much anymore. That's including the little ones. "I want to see her." She shifts back and forth from flipper to flipper, making a little "whoosh!" sound as her feet slide against the kitchen tile. Lizzi feels horrible. She kneels down and puts her flippers on the girl's shoulders. "I'm so sorry about your mother, Ari," she pauses, searching for the words that she doesnt have. "Unfortunately... we... well... we can't leave. There's no way of escape, guards are everywhere. The jail is ''just ''outside." Arianna shakes her head sadly. "But, Lizzi, that isn't fair! She's dying, and I can't even see her again!" she sits cross-legged on the floor and crosses her arms. "I hate Bandit," she mutters. Lizzi panics and covers Arianna's mouth quickly. She glances around to be sure that no one else heard, but she can't be granted assurance. Mike walks in, talking with another guard. Of course, if it were just Mike, he would keep it secret, but Mike is not the only guard coming in. The other guard's name is Aiden. He's the toughest guard of them all, and he is a fan of Bandit's. Mike tries to be chummy with him so he doesn't look like he's secretly breaking Bandit's rules; it usually works. Aiden appears to be in a fury as soon as he lays eyes on Arianna. Lizzi pulls her flipper away instantly, but Aiden seems to have already put two-and-two together... What will happen next? Find out when Chapter 2 is released!